Chapter Twelve: How Did it Happen?
This story is rated blue star and suitable for all ages.
There was an enormous thud as the object struck the stage. Brian and Honey slid and rolled some way across the floor before coming to a stop. Dan reached the prone forms of his friends first, though Trixie and Jim weren’t far behind him. The three were frantic, and as Dan bent down to help him, Brian gently eased Honey off his chest and sat up carefully, urging them to back off a little. He reached over to Honey and she slowly moved her slender limbs, albeit awkwardly.
“Thank goodness you’re both all right,” Jim exclaimed, the freckles on his face standing out, as he knelt down beside his sister and gently took one of her slim hands in his.
Trixie sniffed and nodded, brushing away a tear. “I was so scared! I thought you two were—” she broke off, dropping down beside the pair.
“If it hadn’t been for you, I don’t know what would have happened,” her brother said, returning the hug she gave him.
Dan shook his dark head. “I couldn’t believe it when I saw that thing falling—I was so close and I couldn’t do anything.”
Brian helped Honey to sit up. “Are you okay?” he asked, black eyes watching her with concern.
Honey nodded and gave him a weak smile. “I just got a fright and maybe a little dirty,” she said, examining her now filthy outfit and rubbing her arm.
“Sorry.” Brian, who was also covered in dust, ran his fingers over her slender arm, making sure that nothing was broken. “I guess you hit the floor pretty hard; it must have hurt.”
“Not as much as that would have.” Honey nodded toward the twisted pile of metal. “Besides, I think it was worse for you. Thanks, Brian.”
Jim stood up and walked over to stare down at the offending article. “It’s one of the lights,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t know how the heck that came down. I’d better call Mr. Saunders, and Dad,” he paused, his expression grim, “not that he’ll be too impressed. I nearly got my sister killed.”
The other Bob-Whites all protested at this, but Jim just shook his head again. “If I hadn’t asked you guys to move, it wouldn’t have been anywhere near as close to you. And I should have had the sense to make sure everything was secure before we started.”
“How could you possibly know anything was going to happen?” Honey cried, her own fright forgotten at the sight of her brother’s distress.
Trixie nodded and, scrambling up, hurried over to grab Jim’s hand. “They’re both okay and that’s what matters.”
Brian slowly got to his feet and gently pulled Honey to hers. “Trix is right, but I do think we should make those calls. I don’t want anyone else on this stage until that whole bank of lights has been checked. Dan, will you make Honey a cup of tea?” he added, turning to his friend.
Dan nodded. “How about I make one for all of us?”
“Good idea,” Jim said.
“I’ll help,” Honey offered.
“You will sit down and rest for a few minutes and Trixie can wait with you,” Brian corrected.
Trixie reached for Honey’s hand, “Come on, we can still go over our notes,” she said. She turned to her brother and hissed, “Bossy, bossy, bossy.” Her blue eyes were affectionate, however, and Brian managed to grin back at her.
Half-an-hour later, Peter Belden and Matthew Wheeler arrived with Regan and Tom. A few minutes later, Ian Saunders came into theatre, obviously upset.
“I can’t tell you how sorry I am, Peter,” he said, extending his hand. “The whole place was given a safety check before the paint crew moved in.”
“Well, fortunately, no harm’s been done,” Mr. Belden said, though he looked anxiously at his oldest son and Honey.
“And no harm will be,” Matthew Wheeler said grimly, as he released his daughter from a hug. “Regan and Tom can use some of the contractor equipment to barricade the stage, ensuring that no further mishaps are likely.”
Honey knew that, in spite of his calm tone, her father was far from happy. He always sounded more formal when he felt that way. On the other hand, his famous red- headed temper seemed to be under control, and that was a good thing.
Ian Saunders turned to face the tall, husky man. “I really can’t apologise enough, but I assure you this won’t go unanswered. I have the full safety report at the office, and I intend to speak to those who performed it.”
Mr. Wheeler nodded. “That sounds like an excellent idea, but in the meantime, if you don’t mind, Regan and Tom will borrow that painter’s ladder on the stage there and get that timber down so that they can secure the rest of the stage area, just in case some of your crew arrive unannounced. We don’t want another accident.”
Mr. Saunders gave his consent, and the two men set to work.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Matthew Wheeler looked down at his daughter, green eyes concerned.
Honey smiled up at him. “Honestly, Daddy, I’m fine. Luckily, Trixie warned us in time and Brian got us both out of the way.”
Her father smiled back. “So we owe the Beldens yet another thank-you. Peter.” He turned to face the other man. “It seems to me that my family and I are constantly in your debt.”
Mr. Belden shook his dark head. “I think it’s fairly even, Matthew. These youngsters look after one another pretty well.”
While Tom and Regan blocked access to the stage using timber and items left by the workmen, Jim and Dan had removed the fallen light and were carefully examining the broken object.
“I can’t see any reason why this should have fallen,” Jim said, a frown fixed on his freckled face.
“It’s pretty beaten up, but none of the edges seem damaged and nothing’s broken off, so far as I can tell,” Dan added.
“I appreciate you young people taking a look,” Mr. Saunders said, before turning to address Matthew Wheeler. “I think I might give the safety office a call and have them come by on Monday morning and go over everything again, right through the entire theatre. I just can’t understand how this could have happened.”
“Maybe they never even checked the lights,” Trixie suggested. “After all, the painters weren’t going to be working on the stage area.”
Ian Saunders raised his brows. “That is true, Trixie, but the check was supposed to be a thorough one, and if you turn out to be right, someone will be getting a very stern talking to. Not to mention, the liability they’ve exposed us to.”
“Let’s leave it for today, anyway,” Peter Belden said. “You youngsters have all had a fright, and Honey and Brian might both be feeling a little stiff and sore.”
“I wouldn’t say no to a hot bath or shower,” Brian admitted. “What about you Honey?
“I would like to clean up, but do we need to do anymore today?” She looked over at Trixie, who shook her sandy curls quite definitely.
“I think we can call it a day.”
“And I second that,” Matthew Wheeler added. “None of you are setting foot in this place again until we’ve determined that it is absolutely safe.”
Trixie’s blue eyes were wide and she shot her own father a quick, imploring look.
“Mr. Wheeler is right, Trixie, I’m afraid you’ll need to wait for the all clear before you do any more work in here.”
Trixie nodded glumly, knowing she had to accept their decision.
“I promise, I’ll get right on it,” Mr. Saunders assured her. “After all, I can’t have the paint crew in here either, until I’m sure it is safe.”
By the time they had arrived back at Crabapple Farm, the sky was overcast and the weather had turned quite chilly. Trixie sat at the kitchen table and waited her turn for the bathroom.
“That must have been quite upsetting,” Helen Belden said, after Trixie had retold her story.
“It was kind of scary,” she admitted, watching as her mother coated chicken pieces for dinner.
Mart shook his sandy head. “I can’t believe I missed all the excitement.”
Trixie glared at him. “It wasn’t a lot of fun seeing your brother and your best friend almost get squished by a big black metal thing.”
Honey, Jim and Dan had gone to clean up at the Manor House but had all been invited back for dinner.
Mrs. Belden smiled at her daughter. “Thanks to you, everyone’s okay,” she said. “Now, why don’t you tell us about the rest of the day.”
Trixie gladly went through the acts that they’d seen and her enthusiasm was contagious.
“They sounds awesome,” Mart said, “and we still have at least six more acts to see, plus Di and, of course, me.”
“Who could forget that?” Trixie sniffed, but she grinned across at him.
“If you want to give me your notes, I’ll see if I can come up with a time frame,” Mart offered. “That way we’ll know how many more acts we need or want to sign up.”
“That would be terrific,” his sister said, “but I guess we should compile all the stuff we wrote for this afternoon’s group. With what happened we never really got around to that.”
Mart held out his hand. “Unless the three of you have suddenly started writing hieroglyphics, I’m pretty sure I can work it out without you.”
Helen Belden smiled as she continued preparing their dinner. Her two middle children, who were closest in age, often argued, but they were actually very fond of one another.
Trixie passed the clipboards over with a grateful smile. “Thanks, Mart, my brain’s pretty scrambled about now.”
“A perfectly normal state if you ask me,” Mart said, blue eyes sparkling with laughter.
Trixie chose, for once, to ignore him. “As soon as I’ve had my shower, I’ll give you a hand with dinner, Moms,” she promised, “and I know Honey will help too, when she gets here.”
“I think I can manage without your help tonight,” her mother returned with a quick smile. “You girls have been working fairly hard, you deserve a night off.”
Trixie jumped to her feet and gave her mother a hug, “Well, at least I can check in on Bobby.”
“I’m sure he’d like that. He’s playing a game on the computer at the moment.” Mrs. Belden opened a can of corn for the fritters she was about to make.
“Try and convince him to do something else, Trix,” Mart said, gathering up the clipboards. “I’ll find this a whole lot easier if I can access the spreadsheet.”
Trixie nodded and headed for her father’s den.
By six-thirty all seven Bob-Whites, Bobby, and Mr. and Mrs. Belden were tucking into delicious fried chicken, corn fritters and steamed carrots.
“Did you and Honey really almost get squashed to death?” Bobby asked his oldest brother anxiously, blue eyes round.
“Not quite,” Brian returned, fixing Mart with a deliberate stare.
Mart flushed guiltily. “I’m almost sure I didn’t mention death, exactly.”
Bobby grabbed Honey’s arm. “I don’t want you or Brian to almost die,” he said frowning.
Honey smiled down at him. “We both look just fine, don’t we?”
Bobby nodded, a trifle uncertainly, and Honey reached over to the heaped platter and placed another drumstick on his plate.
“I think it sounds awful,” Di said, her violet eyes wide. “Thank goodness you got out of the way in time. I know I’m not going anywhere near there until everything’s been made safe.”
“Don’t worry, you can’t,” Trixie said, with a frown, as she helped herself to carrots. “Honey’s dad laid down the law, we’re not allowed in—full-stop.”
Jim laughed, and Peter Belden waved his fork at his daughter. “Mr. Wheeler’s decision was entirely appropriate and I fully support it.”
“I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet,” Jim said, “but Dad spoke to Mr. Saunders again, after we arrived home, and he’s trying to get a hold of the foreman. Hopefully, they can do a full check tomorrow or the maybe the next day, with tomorrow being Sunday. So we really won’t get held up that much. All being well, we can go back in Monday afternoon—Tuesday at the latest— so there’s no need to panic.”
“Who’s panicking?” Trixie said, but she smiled across at him and her expression showed how relieved she was.
Once they had finished dinner, Mr. Belden insisted on helping his wife with the dishes, agreeing that the young people did deserve an occasional night off.
“Di and I might set up for the magic show preview then,” Mart said.
Bobby clapped his hands together. “I love Mart’s tricks. He’s so funny,” he said.
“He is, isn’t he?” Trixie added with a grin.
Mart began his show with some simple yet entertaining card tricks. He went on to produce a delicate yellow rose from behind Honey’s ear and an almost endless scarf from his own seemingly empty pocket. After that, with Di’s help, he made a number of objects disappear and then freed himself from a pair of handcuffs. All the while he kept up a steady stream of banter that had his audience in stitches.
“You know, Mart, I think you may have missed your calling,” Dan said.
“I do believe you could be right,” Mart agreed with false modesty. “I definitely have considered this as a potential career but even with all its intricacies it fails to deliver a very specific quality that I believe necessary to ensure my long-term investment.”
“Food?” Trixie said, and they all burst out laughing.
“He’s awfully good, isn’t he?” Di said
“Well, I have a terrific assistant,” Mart told her with an appreciative smile.
“Would you like to have a look at the designs I’ve done for your costumes?” Honey asked. “I’ve brought some fabric down as well.”
Mart and Di both nodded enthusiastically, and Honey hurried upstairs to grab one of the bags she’d brought with her.
The three were soon seated side by side on the Beldens’ comfortable sofa. Mart looked from one sketch to the other and Di fingered the soft shiny materials Honey had handed her.
“This is perfect.” Di pushed her black hair off her shoulder and held up a dark purple satin. “When did you find time to go looking for fabric?”
Honey looked slightly embarrassed. “Actually, I already had that at home. I often pick something up if I see it at a sale, just in case I want to make something. If it’s not suitable, I don’t mind looking for more.”
“I think it’s great,” Mart said with a grin, “though I think I’ll take the black, if that’s all right with you.”
Trixie smiled, thinking that most people would find it very strange that the only daughter of a multi-millionaire would have a stash of “on-sale” fabrics, just in case they should come in handy. Personally, she couldn’t think of anything worse than spending her free time sewing, but Honey loved it and thoroughly enjoyed buying bargains with her hard earned money.
Mart and Di each selected a design and Honey promised to get to work on the cloaks as soon as she could.
As the others were getting ready to leave Honey and Trixie were picking up the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that Bobby had spread out behind the sofa. Brian pulled Jim into the living room, not realising that their sisters were nearby.
“What if the light isn’t the only problem these people find?” he said.
“I’ve been thinking about that myself,” Jim admitted. “If it’s just that or a couple of small things they’ll be able to take care of it straight away, but if not—”
“Exactly,” Brian finished. “We could be in real trouble.”
“Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it,” Jim said. He paused before adding, “Do you think we should tell the others?”
“Definitely not,” Brian’s answer was firm, “Trix and Honey will flip. Let’s just keep our fears to ourselves.” `
They hurried out leaving two very worried young ladies behind them.
BSM:MAIN NEXT
I've made many changes to this chapter and have undoubtedly created errors my stalwart editor Dana is unable to fix. My apologies. Trixie Belden et al remain the property of Random House. No profit is being made from these scribblings.
